Pros/Cons of combining MS and US Departments (for Course Recommendations)

Erin Caprielian

We are a K-12 school that currently has separate departments for LS, MS, and US (e.g. LS Science, MS Science, and US Science).

Since Blackbaud does not allow teachers to make Course Recommendations for courses in other departments (see KB article 118058 as well as Idea K12OR-I-381… which was submitted in 2016 and has 111 votes but hasn't been marked under consideration… maybe a few more votes would help?), this means that, for example, our MS math teachers cannot recommend US math courses for their students.

When I contacted support, they directed me to the Knowledgebase article “Why Can't a Middle School Teacher Recommend Upper School Courses?” Has anyone followed the steps in this article and if so, what were the pros and cons for having combined departments across schools vs. separate departments? Is this something better done over the summer?